OVARIUTERUS AND OOCYTE DIMENSIONS IN THE FEMALE BUTHID SCORPION, LEIURUS-QUINQUESTRIATUS, H-AND-E (SCORPIONES, BUTHIDAE), AND THE EFFECT OFHIGHER TEMPERATURE

The ovariuterus of the scorpion Leiurus quinquestriatus consists of th ree longitudinal tubes with five tubes interconnecting them. Oocytes o f various sizes are situated on very short pedicles on the ventral sid e of the ovariuterus tubes. About 50 of either large or small oocytes could be observed under the dissecting microscope. Smaller ones (less than 50 mu m in diameter) could only be recognized using a scanning el ectron microscope or in microscopic sections. Such means also allowed the identification of scars left by shrunken pedicles following partur ition. The entire ovariuterus of a female was screened under SEM, and all visible oocytes were counted. In females kept at 25 degrees C, gro wth and maturation of the small oocytes were accelerated, markedly inc reasing the number of large oocytes. Moreover, a large number of small , yellow, degenerated oocytes was noticed in these females.